— The Council of American Master Mariners, Inc. —

CAMM Views

Merchant Mariner Licensing Program

Positions Main Page Positions Committee
2007 Positions
Overview Current Positions
2006 Positions
06-01: Waiver of Jones Act
06-02: USCG Credentialing
06-03: Physical Guidelines: USCG NVIC 2-98
06-04: HR889, Sect. 425 - Riding Gangs
06-05: IFSMA’s Fair Treatment of Seafarers
06-06: Seafarer’s Biometric IDs
06-07: License Renewal Background Checks
06-08: Wash. State Prohibit De-Ballast
06-09: ILO Maritime Labor Convention
2005 Positions
05-01: Treatment of Witnesses
05-02: Contamination & Safety
2004 Positions
Overview 2004 Positions
04-01: Criminalization of Shipmasters
04-02: Ports of Refuge
04-03: Double-Hull Bulk Carriers
04-04: Freedom of the Seas
04-05: Ship Security Officers (ISPS Code)
04-06: Piracy
04-07: One Man Bridge Watch
04-08: Law of the Sea

<< Prev      Next >>
Printable Press Release

Position
06-02

Merchant Mariner Licensing Program
Changes to USCG Licensing

Opposed

The United States Coast Guard has announced a series of proposed legislative changes that would transform the landscape of both credentialing (Z-Cards) and Licensing for all U. S. Merchant Seaman.

In summary, the legislation has the following implications:

  1. Elimination of statutory language that creates a Congressional mandate for the Coast Guard to maintain a licensing program for Merchant Marine Officers.
  2. Potential elimination of property rights to a license now enjoyed by the holder.
  3. The new program as proposed would replace the current Act of Congress with a system of credentialing that would be solely subject to U. S. Coast Guard regulatory action.
  4. Language present in the proposals suggesting the interjection of a security provision in the proposed professional credentialing, suspension and revocation statutes.

In defending these drastic changes to a system as tried and true as our Licensing Standards, the US Coast Guard has gone to the well citing security issues in defense of their plan to remove Congressional oversight and thus limit a licensees Personal Property Rights and the Rights of Due Process with an appropriate appeal now granted to us under established legal protections.

It is The Councils view that the security threat presupposed by the population of Master Mariners and all other licensees already laboring under a plethora of background checks, continuous drug testing, frequent physical examinations, training and testing is in no way proportionate to their justification for the legislation as proposed.

The Council of American Master Mariners is vehemently opposed to any changes in the current Acts whereby the Merchant Marine License Program changes in legal hue, form, or meaning according to the Rule of Law. It is the Councils considered opinion that the basic criteria for a Merchant Marine Officers licensing program remain a Congressional Act and subject to that institutions oversight and accountability.

<< Prev      Next >>